Acts 4: 23-37

(Acts 4: 23-37)

And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.  And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.  And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,  By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.  Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,  And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,  Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.


The council put the apostles in court. It was a court that oppressed the apostles of God by their judgment. The place that should be the court of truth became the court of power. They blocked the apostles' mouths, threatened them, and expelled them. The apostles who had been driven out came to their companions and reported what had happened. After reporting, the apostles began to pray with one heart, but as in court, they did not ask for the removal of others for self-assertion and to stand firmly on the ground.

The apostles said, "If the will of the apostles is the will of God, please let God, who is the chief principal, and God speaking with the Holy Spirit, make the will come true in the field of history." They prayed, "If the will of the apostles is the will of God, ask them not to withdraw from preaching the word, and to make signs and wonders come true in Jesus' name, not my name." This was the faith of the community where the will of the apostles was fulfilled only in the will of God. This community is the church. These churches were the early churches and the apostolic churches. The appearance of the church shown by the early church is unraveled in the verse that the Bible is one heart and one will. It wasn't just words. There was an incredible love.

『The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. There are words that are harder to believe. This was the reason for 『Neither was there any among them that lacked.』 『For as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold.』 Not all of the saints did that. There were volunteers. It means that there were not those who solved one mind and one meaning with words, but those who solved them with life. The kingdom of God without the poor was preoccupied through people who lived one heart and one will.

A Levite named Joseph brought the money he received from selling his field to the apostles. He did so not to prove his assertion and spiritual satisfaction, but to join in one heart and one will. The apostles called him Barnabas, meaning the son of comfort. This man, Joseph, was Barnabas who helped Paul. One such person, one person, gathered to form an apostolic church.

 

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